ESPN commentator: Caleb Williams entering portal redefining college football

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams sent shockwaves throughout college football this week when he decided to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. Williams didn’t rule out a return to Oklahoma when entering the portal, but that now appears unlikely.

With Williams entering the portal but not ruling out a return to the Sooners, ESPN commentators Kevin Negandhi and Booger McFarland said that he has completely changed how the process works with the portal. But Negandhi added that not every player can do what Williams did.

“Let me say this, not every player can do this,” Negandhi said. “A guy like Caleb Williams can do this because of the talent he has. Coming in as a true freshman, the season he had off the bench replacing Spencer Rattler, his head coach, the reason why he was at Oklahoma, is now at USC in Lincoln Riley. He can do this kind of stuff and say, ‘Let me see what’s out there.’ I don’t think many players – players can try to – but it could backfire if they were to do this.”

McFarland: Williams’ portal entry is ‘something totally different’

Williams took over at quarterback for Oklahoma during the Red River Rivalry game against Texas, leading the Sooners to a 21-point comeback victory. From there, Williams threw for 1,912 yards with 27 total touchdowns after taking control of the starting quarterback job. Oklahoma went 11-2 this season.

Many, including McFarland, expected Williams to follow Lincoln Riley, who left Oklahoma to become the head coach at USC. McFarland also added that Williams entering the portal is showcasing the “free agency” type of system in college football today.

“We were doing pregame (for Oklahoma’s bowl game), and I said I was surprised he was still wearing this shade of red,” McFarland said. “Twitter blew up, everybody was like, Booger you’re crazy. But here we are. The rumors going into the game were him expected to follow Lincoln Riley to USC. Now, he may still do that, but I think he’s opened a new box. This is called free agency. ‘Hey, I’m going to put my name in the portal. Not saying I’m going anywhere, but I want to be re-recruited and have everybody put their best offer on the table.’ To me that’s something totally different than what we’ve seen. Normally guys enter the portal and say I’m leaving.”

A return to Oklahoma is likely now out of the picture for Williams. Shortly after entering the portal, former UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel flipped his transfer commitment from UCLA to Oklahoma. But Williams will now let the process play out until he finds the fit that he is looking for.